Fire engulfs Hillsdale home, cause unknown

Tuesday

Jan 22, 2013 at 8:17 AMJan 22, 2013 at 8:17 AM

By Matt Durr

matt.durr@hillsdale.netHILLSDALE — Firefighters from four local departments battled a ferocious fire that sent one person to the hospital and completely destroyed the home where the fire started early Saturday.Hillsdale Rural Fire Department responded to a call at approximately 2:30 a.m. Saturday for a fire at 3891 South Hillsdale Road. Hillsdale City, Reading and Woodbridge fire departments were called once the crew got there.“The house was fully engulfed when we got on scene,” said Hillsdale Rural Fire Chief Dave McVey.Crews were able to control the fire after roughly three hours, but firefighters stayed on scene until 9 a.m.“There were a lot of hot spots we had to contend with,” McVey said.A husband, wife and three teenagers were all in the home when the fire started. One of the teenagers jumped from the second story of the farmhouse and was injured. The teen was taken to the hospital prior to fire crews arriving on scene. It is unclear how injured the person was.The cause of the fire in under investigation, but McVey said when a state trooper visited the scene on Saturday, an actual cause may not be found.“He said there was so much damage, he might not be able to pinpoint the cause,” McVey said.The homeowners did tell officials that the fire started on the first floor of the home and there was also a wood burner in the basement. However, they did not say whether or not they were burning anything prior to the house catching fire.